


nothing that we didn't try

by polyamory



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Canon-Typical Violence, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Deaf Clint Barton, Deaf Natasha, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Multi, Natasha Needs a Hug, Natasha-centric, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Physical Disability, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Relationship, Recovery, Slow Build, Trauma, the fic is not gonna be as dark as these tags make it seem
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2016-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-26 06:42:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7564159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/polyamory/pseuds/polyamory
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a mission gone wrong Nat is out of commission and has to learn to adjust to this new reality. Her friends help her deal with the loss of her hearing and the loss of mobility.</p>
            </blockquote>





	nothing that we didn't try

**Author's Note:**

> this was originally supposed to be a fill for two different prompts at a marvel big bang (i think), one asking for sam/steve/nat, the other asking for disabled nat. i decided to combine them both but didn't manage to finish in time.

It's supposed to be a simple mission. Going in, getting the intel SHIELD needs, and going out again, but Natasha gets captured before she can even reach the target's office.

It's supposed to be a simple mission, that's why she's all alone with only two agents as back-up on the outside.

She doesn't go out without a fight, of course, but she's hopelessly outnumbered.

It's supposed to be a simple mission, that's why Steve is here instead of in the field with her, having her back.

There's chaos in the command center for a moment as everyone scrambles to keep up. All Steve can do is stand by and try not to be in the way.

"Agent, status report," Hill barks into the comm but there's no answer from Natasha and they can't get a hold of her back-up either.

Five minutes later the blinking light of Natasha's GPS tracker goes out. Steve watches it go dark on the big screen.

It turns out later that her back-up, two junior agents on their first field mission, sold her out. She'd walked right into a trap.

In the fallout there's a lot of yelling and frustration and analysts working all night trying to get a read on Natasha's location, trying to get a read on anything at all.

There's no sign of her anywhere. No sign of the traitors or the target either.

 

"Why is it taking so long to find her? It shouldn't be taking this long!" Clint is pacing along the length of the conference room.

"We've got our best people on this. You know that," Hill says from where she's standing at the head of the table.

They're reviewing the files again, trying to find any clue as to where they could've taken Natasha. It must be at least the tenth time they've gone over them in the past three days and the facts haven't changed.

"Clint," Coulson starts, "you should be in Medical. You just got back from your own mission – "

"Yeah, just to find out that my best friend is MIA," Clint cuts him off. He's still pacing like a caged animal. Steve relates.

"Hey," Bucky says, standing up so Clint has no choice but to stop and look at him. "Go see the doctors. We'll still be here going over the files and Sam is coming, too. Pair of fresh eyes is a good thing, right? Besides, you won't be any good to Natasha if you die from a concussion."

"I'm gonna be back as soon as they let me out," Clint promises.

"Get some sleep while you're at it," Coulson calls after him.

"I guess we'll be seeing him again soon," Steve says. Bucky turns to him, eyebrows raised like,  _ you're really not being helpful, Rogers. _

Sam comes in ten minutes later with Starbucks for everyone. "I'm not late," is the first thing he says to Steve and Bucky visibly has to bite back a grin.

"Any news yet?" Sam asks and Bucky's grin falls.

"No, still no clue where they're keeping her."

 

Two days later Steve's phone rings in the middle of the night, waking him.

"We've got a location," Coulson's voice sounds grim but determined. "We're moving out ASAP."

"We'll be there in ten," Steve says, already stumbling out of bed and shaking off sleep.

When he steps out into the hallway Sam and Bucky are already there, nodding in acknowledgment when they see him.

They get ready in steely silence, and three minutes later they're piled into Sam's car and on the way to SHIELD headquarters.

"Did they give you any more details?" Sam asks, looking at Steve in the rear view mirror.

"Just that they've got her location."

"Let's hope they're right," Bucky says.

 

They find Coulson and Hill in the briefing room, a map projected onto the wall, talking to a couple of agents.

"You're here," Clint greets them. "Good."

"We got her location from one of the junior agents," Coulson explains.

"The moles?"

"Yeah. Turns out being a push-over goes both ways. He didn't know as much as we hoped but, at least we got Romanov's location."

"She's being held near here," Hill points at the map. "The plan is you three and Barton go in, we get agents stationed outside all exits to take care of any strays."

"Sounds like a plan," Bucky says.

"Good," Coulson nods. "Transport leaves in ten."

Time seems to fly after that and before Steve can even start to get antsy the plane is touching down and they're storming the enemy base.

Clint is down on the ground with them and Sam had to leave his wings at home, so they're on foot, methodically waltzing their way through hallway after hallway, room after room. None of them are going easy; there are no knee shots, not today. Every shot is fired with precision, right between the eyes.

Clint is at the front, wrenching an arrow out of some guy's throat with a sickening sound but he doesn't even slow down. Sam and Steve are checking the rooms to either side of the hallway as they go along and Steve throws his shield whenever there's enough room for it. Bucky is at their backs, picking off hostiles that approach from behind.

They're two stories up in their fifth hallway when they find Natasha, tied to a metal grate, in a dirty room.

It looks like a scene from a horror movie and no matter how much violence Steve has seen in his life (too much) it's still entirely different and much more horrible when it's his friends suffering.

"She's here!" Sam calls out to Bucky and Clint.

Natasha's knees are a mess, bloody and broken, pieces of bone glinting ghastly white in the light of the bare bulb.

"Tasha!" Clint pushes into the room behind them.

There's a bag over her head, grey and dirty from sweat and blood.

"Is she alive?" Bucky asks, eyes and weapon still trained on the door in case there are more hostiles coming.

"Yeah, she is," Sam says, two fingers pressing against Natasha's throat to feel her pulse.

Natasha starts twisting around and away when Sam touches her.

"I don't think she can hear us," Steve says, stepping forward. His heart is in his throat and it makes it hard to breath. "Look at the blood on the blindfold."

"Did they do something to her eyes?" Bucky asks from the doorway. His voice sounds rough.

"No, not her eyes – "

"It's her ears," Clint says. "Let's get this thing off."

The fabric sticks to the blood around her ears and Sam rips it off quickly but Natasha still lets out a noise like a hurt animal. Natasha blinks at the sudden bright light.

"Sorry, sorry," Sam whispers.

"Hey, Tasha. Tasha, it's me," Clint is saying, shading Natasha's face with one hand and stroking her hair with the other.

When she sees Clint she visibly relaxes, looking around at the rest of them.

As soon as their eyes meet Steve steps forward to start undoing the ties around Natasha's ankle. He sees Sam do the same on her other side.

"Hey, hey," Clint cautions. "Don't try to move so much, yeah?" Natasha makes a confused noise, eyes flicking from Clint's lips to his eyes to the rest of the room.

"Right, shit. Sorry," Clint says and lets go of Natasha in favor of signing something at her.

Steve moves on to her wrist ties just as Natasha nods in response to whatever Clint tells her. She makes a few low sounds, they almost sound involuntary, but Clint signs something else and she falls silent, body sagging against her restraints. As soon as they come undone Sam is there, holding her before she can fall.

The noise she makes when Steve picks her up, trying to support her legs so she doesn't have to bend her knees, is much louder than the one before. It makes all four of them flinch.

They make their way out quickly, Bucky at the front, Clint at the back, Steve with Natasha and Sam next to him, keeping them both steady.


End file.
